Summary
Workarounds
There are no workarounds for this issue. Users are recommended to upgrade, as soon as possible, to a version of Steve API/Rancher Manager which contains the fixes.
References
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Reach out to the SUSE Rancher Security team for security-related inquiries.
- Open an issue in the Rancher repository.
- Verify with our support matrix and product support lifecycle.
Impact
A vulnerability has been discovered in Steve API (Kubernetes API Translator) in which users can watch resources they are not allowed to access, when they have at least some generic permissions on the type. For example, a user who can get a single secret in a single namespace can get all secrets in every namespace.
During a watch request for a single ID, the following occurs:
- In the case of a watch request for a single resource, Steve API will return a partition with the requested resource in it. In other cases, it will check the user's access when constructing partitions.
- When a watch request for a single resource is issued, instead of using a client which impersonates the user making the request, Steve API will use the admin client, which can read all resources.
This allows any requester to see the contents of any object such as secret keys, signing certificates, API tokens.
Please consult the associated MITRE ATT&CK - Technique - Valid Accounts and MITRE ATT&CK - Technique - Container and Resource Discovery for further information about this category of attack.
The application does not adequately verify the identity of a user, device, or process before granting access. Typical impact: unauthorized access to functions or data reserved for authenticated parties.
CVE-2024-52280 has a CVSS score of 7.7 (High). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (0.0.0-20241029132712-2175e090fe4b); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
Remediation advice
To address this issue, the fix introduces a change in the behavior of the Steve API.
When issuing a watch request with an ID specified, the requester's permissions are now correctly honoured. This will deny events for objects the requester cannot actually access. Previously these events were returned unconditionally, allowing any requester to see the contents of any object.
Patched versions include the following commits:
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2024-52280? CVE-2024-52280 is a high-severity improper authentication vulnerability in github.com/rancher/steve (go), affecting versions < 0.0.0-20241029132712-2175e090fe4b. It is fixed in 0.0.0-20241029132712-2175e090fe4b. The application does not adequately verify the identity of a user, device, or process before granting access.
- How severe is CVE-2024-52280? CVE-2024-52280 has a CVSS score of 7.7 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of github.com/rancher/steve are affected by CVE-2024-52280? github.com/rancher/steve (go) versions < 0.0.0-20241029132712-2175e090fe4b is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2024-52280? Yes. CVE-2024-52280 is fixed in 0.0.0-20241029132712-2175e090fe4b. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2024-52280 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-52280 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2024-52280 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2024-52280? Upgrade
github.com/rancher/steveto 0.0.0-20241029132712-2175e090fe4b or later.